2019 Phoenix Area Course Conditions

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

Anyone played gcu lately?

[mvoss]

Anyone played gcu lately?

 

2 weeks ago. A few bare spots in the rough. Greens were very good but a notch below Aguila. Overall in really good shape.

[MackDaddy480]

Played Aguila yesterday afternoon, the greens were spotty in some places but the course overall was in very nice shape. All the fairway and tee boxes look great. Was only in 1 bunker but it had plenty of sand.

[ferrispgm]

I played GCU 2-3 weeks ago as well...Great shape. Aguila may be a notch better but not by much. Every time I play there I always leave wondering why I don't play it more often.

[BUCKEYERBALL88]

Gcu yesterday twilight

 

Value-very good. I paid $30 to walk with the city card

Greens-below average. Lots of spike marks. Speed was a bit quicker than normal

Pace-horrendous. Just under 5 hours. Every par 3 had 2 groups waiting. At the turn I politely asked for them to send out a ranger. I never saw one

Bunkers-I was in 1. The sand was good.

Fairways-were fine. Pretty firm lots of unfilled divots. I tried to put the sand mix in mine + 2 more every approach shot

 

Fun pairing with some guys from philly. I think the pace of play could be improved with the starter having a conversation with the groups about what tees they are going to play.

 

Has anyone tried the food in the clubhouse?

[azgolfer44]

Played GCU today. Conditions were very average. Greens had a lot of grain and not real quick. No one fills divots in the fairways which were pretty shaggy. Still a good value but I’ve seen it much better. I put it below Aguila and way below Papago.

[thewral]

Troon Pinnacle - great track, glad I played it, won’t play it again at $250. Too “corporate” feeling. Greens were used and abused, no one fixing ball marks. Prefer Verrado, Verde River - both at a fraction of cost, Grayhawk. Playing WeKoPa tomorrow and hoping rain holds off.

[cbbaron]

Troon Pinnacle - great track, glad I played it, won’t play it again at $250. Too “corporate” feeling. Greens were used and abused, no one fixing ball marks. Prefer Verrado, Verde River - both at a fraction of cost, Grayhawk. Playing WeKoPa tomorrow and hoping rain holds off.

SB weekend in 15 Troon was getting 400 plus

[AzSuperHack76]

Falcon Dunes with kcowgolf and mackdaddy480, course was in fine shape. Damn rain though, hard to keep the club from flying off it was so wet.

[puttnforthe8]

Canelback Padres is in the best shape I ever seen. The new management and greenskeeper are doing wonders. Almost perfect tee to green.

[ddetts]

If anyone can provide course updates on the Trilogy at Power Ranch and Mountain Brook Golf Club I'll be playing them in about two weeks. Thanks.

 

Power ranch is a mess...tee to green.

 

Just wanted to provide an update on both courses as neither were anywhere near as bad as I was expecting based on previous comments:

 

Mountain Brook on 1/29/19 - overall I think the course was in good condition. There were a couple of greens that had some spots that were still a bit bare but for the most part they were good. They had been recently rolled from what I was told, and they were rolling pretty fast. Also, a few tee boxes had some thin/poor spots but most were fine. I can't recall any fairways that were in tough shape. There are a few interesting holes, and some that have really nice views of the Superstition mountains.

 

I learned the course has been under new ownership for close to a year now and they've put a lot of work into turning it around. Chatted with the starter and he had great things to say about how things have improved since the previous ownership. I guess previous ownership had been trying to sell for close to two year and were basically not putting anything into the course.

 

Power Ranch on 1/31/19 - puttnforthe8, not sure when you last played but the course was not a mess at all when we played. Tee boxes & greens were in good shape, and the greens were also rolling pretty quick and true. The fairways were really green and lush and I didn't see any poor areas grass wise. I felt like there was a good mix of holes, most of the par 5s are on the long side, some challenging par4s and par 3s. I had played this course almost 12 years ago, but didn't consider it much back then because it was on the back end of 5 rounds & preceeded by Dinosaur Mtn., Eagle Mountain, Ocotillo, & Superstition Springs so I was tired and a mentally disengaged that time.

 

It's definitely a housing community course, with the homes/walls being a bit too close for my liking in some spots but it is what it is.

 

 

Now, I'm not trying to say either of these courses compare to $200+ a round courses like Troon, Grayhawk, etc but I felt like they were a good value. Maybe it's perception and because I don't play top tier resort/private courses that often but I've played plenty of tracks I'd rate lower than both.

[sarmis2]

Have to choose a last round to complete our trip in April- Would you choose Verrado( from what I remember everyone liked Founders over Victory?) or Southern Dunes?

[cbbaron]

Have to choose a last round to complete our trip in April- Would you choose Verrado( from what I remember everyone liked Founders over Victory?) or Southern Dunes?

Southern Dunes but Verrado is solid as well

[puttnforthe8]

Have to choose a last round to complete our trip in April- Would you choose Verrado( from what I remember everyone liked Founders over Victory?) or Southern Dunes?

 

2 widely different courses for many reasons.(style, design, distances away from things, atmosphere/environment)

 

However, SD would be the choice. Much better choice for many reasons above.....

[cod4101]

I’m heading down in a couple weeks. Playing Quintero for the first time, Has anyone played it recently?

[puttnforthe8]

I’m heading down in a couple weeks. Playing Quintero for the first time, Has anyone played it recently?

 

Late December...it is is perfect shape.

[cod4101]

I’m heading down in a couple weeks. Playing Quintero for the first time, Has anyone played it recently?

 

Late December...it is is perfect shape.

 

Awesome I can’t wait to ditch the cold.

[95124hacker]

Played Aguila today and for all the recent reports of good condition, I can't say the same. The greens were destroyed...imo. It seemed as the morning tee times were jumping up and down and slamming there clubs into the greens. There were some serious cuts/gashes, tons of pitch marks unfixed, and it appeared some serious overwatering that footprints were deep.

 

Fairways were ok, but not a single divot fixed.

 

We played the front twice because the skins game was holding up the whole course. Ranger said they caused a 3-4 tee time delay.

 

Maybe Sergio was in a group ahead of you!

[Rohlio]

Played legacy today. Tee to green very nice... Apparently old people don't like fixing ball marks, because the greens looked like the surface of the moon. Rolled well, but pretty spotty.

[teejaywhy]

Have to choose a last round to complete our trip in April- Would you choose Verrado( from what I remember everyone liked Founders over Victory?) or Southern Dunes?

 

Verrado Founders is solid but Southern Dunes is special. I would split 10 rounds 7 SD and 3 verrado.

 

[gcaudia]

Is Verrado Founder's worth the trip if you're in Scottsdale? Is there a course that rivals it in that similar price range?

[puttnforthe8]

Is Verrado Founder's worth the trip if you're in Scottsdale? Is there a course that rivals it in that similar price range?

 

Absolutely worth it...Legend Trail and Verde River are close.

 

Devils Claw is outstanding.

[wybrh]

Played Quintero on Saturday. Wow, absolutely pure tee to green. It was my first time there and I enjoyed it very much.

[ferrispgm]

Played 9 holes at Kenny Mac on Saturday....course is in pretty good shape...greens are a tad slow but roll smoothly...bunkers a touch thin as well but playable. Not on the same level as Aguila or Papago, but not terribly far off either. Overall I was pretty happy with the course though.

[MackDaddy480]

Played Gainey Ranch and GCU over the weekend. Gainey Ranch was in great shape, greens were pretty quick. There is a TON of fluffy sand in the bunkers. You are almost guaranteed to get a plugged lie hitting a mid/short iron into them.

 

GCU was also in fantastic shape tee boxes to greens. Greens were running quick and pure except for the occasional ball mark and spike marks. Teed off at 1:20 and finished in 4:30.

[Olson12]

Played Coldwater Golf club this weekend. The course was in decent shape but is a bit overpriced at $70 right now. I enjoy that golf course a lot but mostly because I played there a lot in high school so there is some history behind it.

[DBill]

Anyone play Bear Creek recently?

[quarterskins]

I played BC Sunday. Course is in fine shape. Lots of nice lies in fairways and greenside. Greens were very nice. I was only in one bunker, the large one in the landing zone on #10. That one had about an inch of fluffy sand over a hardpan base. I picked it clean, but it would have been tricky if greenside.

 

We were delayed 45 mins due to frost, teed off at noon. Got around in 4 hours.

[DBill]

^ Thanks for the heads up, will be playing Friday.

[95124hacker]

How is ASU Karsten playing these days?

 

Never mind. Just read on Yelp that it’s on its last legs